By Any Other Name
by Mizu-chan
Summary: The odyssey of Petunia Evans from a fantasy loving child to a wizard hating woman.
1. Letter from Hogwarts

**By Any Other Name**

_What's in a name? That which we call a rose.._

_By any other name would smell as sweet._

_Juliet, Romeo and Juliet_

A low giggle escaped the girl as she flipped to the next page of her current novel. It was about another girl, who could move things with her mind. The child was absolutely enraptured by the story. She had snatched it from the library earlier that hazy summer morning and flopped down in her front yard to devour it. The rest of the afternoon was spent reading and occasionally looking up to shout bits of encouragement to her younger sister, who was being thoroughly whipped at a game of kickball. Inspired by the story, the little girl reading glared up at the ball and willed it towards her. A cheer broke out as her sister caught the fly-ball with a single hand, and with a defeated sigh she returned to her book. The inability to perform telekinesis did not truly bother the girl. She had already journeyed to Mordor, slipped through the wardrobe, and flown on Pegasus. Telekinesis was nothing compared to the daily flights of fancy she was so prone to take.

The story was just reaching its climax when the low hoot of an owl broke into the girl's reverie. She blinked, sitting up to stare at the bird that had suddenly appeared in the dusky sky. It was still rather early for any nocturnal beasts to be out. She even had enough light to continue reading. Suddenly the owl swooped towards the ground and the girl noticed a letter clutched between its talons.

"How odd," she murmured to herself. At once her mind was whisking off onto a fantasy adventure. The owl was obviously only the beginning. She stood up slowly, following the flight of the owl until she realized it was headed right towards her. With a duck, she narrowly escaped being hit by the flying animal and watched in amazement when it shoved its envelope into her very own mail slot. With a squeal of excitement, she slammed her book shut and began sprinting towards her home. This was almost too good to be true. An actual fantasy coming true right before her very eyes! She wondered what sort of adventure that letter held for her.

"Lily!" shouted a parental voice from inside the house. The prancing girl came to an abrupt halt as she felt her heart plummet dramatically. A bitter taste filled her mouth as bile rose up unannounced. She felt faint as she stumbled a few feet backwards in a state of disbelief.

"I'll be right back!" the kickball playing younger sister assured her gaggle of friends. She wiped the sweat from her brow and pulled her long hair back into a ponytail. With an unpleasant grumble about always being interrupted, Lily Evans dashed towards her house. "Oh, come along, Petunia! I'm sure they'll want to see you as well," was her offhanded remark as she ran past her elder sister.

Petunia calmed her nerves. She nervously tapped the cover of her book a few times, breathing deeply as she reassured herself. Jumping to conclusions about an abnormal owl was a rather silly thing to do. The girl nodded to herself before she took the final steps into her home.

"Well? Have you any idea what this is about?" questioned Petunia's mother as she smiled warmly towards her youngest child. Lily shrugged nonchalantly before snatching the thick letter from her parent's hand, her eyes scanning the page.

"Here, Petunia. This seems like something you'd understand better than any of us," Lily placed the letter into Petunia's trembling hand and offered her a goofy grin.

Petunia found it was rather hard to swallow or even breathe as her eyes raced across the sheet set before her. It was very clearly addressed to Ms. Lily Evans, 34 Carlisle Street, Westminster. For a fleeting moment, Petunia believed it might just be a typo. An owl-delivered letter was surely something meant for her. Nibbling cautiously at her lip, she dared to read further.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL _of _WITCHCRAFT _and _WIZARDRY

Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

Dear Ms. Evans,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. They can be found in Diagon Alley, just through the Leaky Cauldron in London. Also enclosed is a brief history of Hogwarts, an explanation of witchcraft and wizardry, and exact directions to the Leaky Cauldron.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours Sincerely,

_Minerva McGonagall_

Minerva McGonagall

_Deputy Headmistress_

Petunia re-read the letter a dozen times before she glanced up into the expectant faces of her family. She offered a weak chuckle before setting the letter down on the coffee table. An urge to leap for joy filled her as she stared down at the proof that all her wildest dreams weren't silly and nonsensical. Everything she read about, all the stories she spent hours imagining, they were all based on truth. Her eyes strayed back to the name on the address and such joyous urgings were quickly smothered. She was instead filled with a simmering rage. When did Lily ever race to the library? When did Lily ever get carried away by words and dreams? Lily spent all her time playing ballgames; she would never be able to appreciate a world of magic. Only Petunia could appreciate such a thing.

"Looks like rubbish to me," she murmured dismissively. "Just some nonsensical little joke."

"That's quite a pragmatic response for such a flighty little girl," giggled Mr. Evans as he jokingly placed his hand on Petunia's forehead. "Are we sure you're not ill?"

Petunia batted his hand away, snarling viciously at her father. It went unnoticed.

"Well, if 'Tunia says it's fake, it must be! She's read enough of those crazy books to be able to tell," Lily gave a shrill giggle as she pounced on her older sister, wrapping the bony girl into an enormous hug. "I'm headed back to kickball, wanna come?"

"No, I've still got a few chapters left to read," Petunia replied. For a moment she wondered if anyone could notice how painful it was for her to speak.

Lily nodded briefly before racing outside to rejoin her friends. Petunia swore she saw a hint of disappointment in her younger sister's bright emerald eyes. It was the very first time in her life that she didn't care. In fact, she wanted Lily to be disappointed. She almost hoped Lily would even begin to cry.

Petunia tossed the mysterious letter aside where it receded to the back of every Evans family member's mind save her own. She found it difficult to concentrate on anything except the letter and retired early to bed that night. She claimed that she wasn't feeling well.

**The End of Chapter 1**

Mizu-chan's Notes: I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter of "By Any Other Name." I'm insanely excited to be writing it (even though it's all about Aunt Petunia!) What do you think of my version of things? Anyone have any other ideas as to what caused Aunt Petunia to hate wizards so much? Leave any theories in my review box, I'm interested to hear! Aunt Petunia is my favorite puzzle, hehe. I also want to thank my insanely amazing BETA, Magistera. It's due to her ability to put up with me and awesome suggestions that "By Any Other Name" is getting released, hehe. All right, well, review away. You know you want to.

Thanks for reading!


	2. Leaky Cauldron

**Valancy - Thanks so much for reviewing! I'm glad you agree with the idea of Petunia being jealous and such. Sorry it took me so long to update, but I really hope you enjoy this next chapter!**

**Once again I wanna take my great BETA, Magistera. Without Magistera, this story would be… well… really bad, haha. On with the show!**

_**By Any Other Name**_

_**Chapter 2**_

"'Tunia." A whisper drifted into the girls dream. She had been busy vanquishing evil and was just about to receive her reward. The interruption caused her dream world to disappear as her eyes slowly opened. Her gaze focused on the anxious face peering down at her. "'Tunia!" the voice squealed.

"Mm.. what do you want?" Petunia asked in a groggy voice as she gingerly sat up. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and swallowed a yawn.

"I have an idea!" Lily squeaked, bouncing up and down on her sister's bed. She clasped Petunia's hands and just beamed at her, breathlessly awaiting a response.

"Well, what is it?" Petunia asked, feeling a hint of curiosity.

"Let's go searching for the Leaky Cauldron!" Lily pulled the Hogwarts letter from her back pocket. "I mean, the directions are here, we may as well explore! Besides, even if it is all a lie, we'll still get a day trip down to the city. And I'm sure you could make a story out of it all!"

With a grunt and a growl, Petunia stood up, forcing Lily to jump swiftly off the bed to her feet. Her younger sister's excited ramblings had a way of rousing her into action. Petunia stumbled towards her bedroom door, heading for the bathroom.

"Does that mean we're going!" Lily nearly shrieked, still managing to keep her voice in a whisper.

"Why not?" was the response as Petunia continued her stagger down the hallway. Her initial uneasy feelings over the entire situation seemed to have disappeared during the course of the night. She had become even more curious about the magical world that the bizarre letter had suggested. It was not something she could just ignore. Petunia realized that even if she couldn't do the magic herself, she still had a golden opportunity to immerse herself in its world.

Half an hour later Petunia emerged from the bathroom, ready to face the day. She shot a grin at her younger sister before finally noticing the time on her bedside clock. Her face fell.

"Are you serious? It's only 6:30 in the morning!" She rounded on her sister, staring Lily down. The younger girl gave an innocent giggle and scrunched down into the nearest corner, feigning fear of sisterly retribution. "I doubt the buses are even running."

"But they are! I checked!" Lily retorted, a pleading tone creeping into her voice. It was enough to make anyone crumble. Petunia's eyes softened and she patted her sister on the head before snatching her tattered backpack off the couch.

"Fine, if you're so set on it, let's head out, shall we?" She slung her bag over her shoulder and stepped out into the morning air. Petunia had taken extra care in getting prepared for the day's trip. Emblazoned on her shirt was a rearing unicorn and she wore her best pair of hip-hugging slacks.

After a few confused trips back and forth on the bus, the Evans sisters finally found their way into London. Lily wrinkled her nose as she attempted to make sense of the directions written at the bottom of her Hogwarts letter. The two ended up wandering for a few hours, turning down the wrong roads and ending up in unexpected locations around the city. Finally, with Big Ben chiming a pleasant ten o' clock, they found the street where the Leaky Cauldron presided.

As they walked down the crowded street, Petunia could feel her heart beat faster. This was the moment of truth. If she saw a sign heralding a pub called the Leaky Cauldron, her dreams would become reality. If the street ended and they didn't see the bar, she would return to being just another flighty little girl with her head in the clouds. She took a few deep breaths to steady herself, barely aware of her surroundings.

"There it is!" Lily broke out, her finger shooting towards a rickety old building that Petunia could have sworn wasn't there a moment ago. "It's really real, 'Tunia! The letter... the letter wasn't lying!" Lily gasped for breath, her eyes growing larger by the second. She whirled to face her sister, drawing them both to a stop on the crowded sidewalk. Lily clutched Petunia's hands desperately. "D-do you know what this means?"

"Hm? What?" Petunia murmured, her attention remaining steadfast on the swaying Leaky Cauldron billboard. It wasn't disappearing as she'd dreaded it might. The small pub was still there as was the hope blossoming in her heart. This was almost too good to be real.

"I'm going... to a school of witchcraft and wizardry!" Lily shouted, her voice raising a few octaves as she was overcome with sheer excitement. A few passersby sent her venomous looks and steered their paths away from the two sisters. Abruptly, Lily grabbed hold of a frail, old man who was hobbling past. She whipped him around to face the saloon and pointed at the front door. "Do you see that?" she demanded, her voice unusually stern. "That pub, right there?" He returned her stare with one of absolute horror. Lily let his arm go slowly before offering a sheepish grin. "I suppose not, silly me. Sorry about all that." She patted his arm before watching him trudge away, a disgusted expression crossing his face.

Petunia doubled over in a fit of raucous laughter, with a few involuntary snorts escaping as she tried to control herself. Shaking her head, she grabbed Lily's hand. Still chuckling, she dragged her younger sister, who was still trying to find someone who could see the pub, straight through the door and into the bar itself. As the door closed behind them Petunia felt as though she might just melt from the celebration that exploded inside her.

The tavern was shabby and in need of repairs here and there. The lighting was absolutely terrible and a musty scent pervaded the air. None of that mattered to Petunia. All she could pay attention to was the robes everyone wore and the woman sitting in a corner, looking on as her knife and fork cut her omelet into slivers without the help of her hands. She was staring, open-mouthed, at the array of inhabitants, some of whom she swore couldn't be completely human. This was her element, this was her home.

"'Tunia?" Lily muttered tentatively, knocking her elder sister out of her mystified daze. "We're in, now what?" The usually bold Lily had shrunk into herself nervously as her eyes dashed from one bizarre character to the next. She wasn't as prepared to see real magic as she thought. She clung close to her sister instead as they made their way to the dingy counter.

A bald man stood behind the bar, a smirk twisting his face. He leaned on his elbow to bring his face level with the young girls standing hopefully at the bar as he quirked his head to the side. "What'll it be, ladies?"

"Er, uhm... that is..." Petunia cleared her throat a few times, drawing herself up to her full height. "We... we would like to go to Diagon Alley."

His face broke out into a knowing grin as he wheezed out a few chuckles.

"Hog-hogwarts? Dumbledore?" Petunia uttered desperately as she struggled to comprehend what was so funny. Nervously, she pushed Lily a bit behind her in case the toothless bartender proved to be dangerous.

"Yeah, yeah, and I'll reckon yer first years, eh?" he leered.

Both sisters nodded in nervous unison.

"Bloody… why can't he tell them to enter somewhere else," the bartender broke out into low grumbles that Petunia assumed she really wasn't intended to hear. She offered him an uneasy smile as he stomped out from behind the bar. "Right you are, follow me." The girls trailed obediently as he lumbered out into a quaint courtyard behind the bar.

"Now, watch carefully," he rasped, pulling a wand from the deep pockets of his soiled apron. Petunia thought she'd faint just from the sight of something so magical. "Once you get yer own wands, I ain't doing this fer ya no more."

"You mean I get one of those?" Lily piped up for the first time since entering the inn. She shrank back into herself again when the bartender sneered at her.

"How else would ya do any schoolwork?" A short laugh escaped him. Without another word, the bartender tapped the wall three times with the end of his wand. As the bricks began to squirm before their eyes, he turned and headed back into the bar.

Petunia managed to momentarily drag her attention away from the morphing bricks to yell out her gratitude to his retreating back. By the time she had returned to watching the wall, the bricks had moved around to form an archway. She could feel the pressure of Lily's hand tighten furiously on her own.

"Are you ready then, Lily?" Petunia asked, her heart beating so rapidly that she believed it would simply combust. "To enter Diagon Alley?"


End file.
